Elevator device



1947- G; E. MuLumx 2,425,753

I ELEVATOR DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 9, 1941 i 15 if 13 I l v I" M305.6 v v Q lf vENTO R 6-1420 5 M044 mm;

477-0 IVEK Patented Aug. 19, 1947 UNITED STATES OFFICE.

2,425,753 ELEVATOR DEHGE Gird E. Mullinix, San Marino, Calif. assignorto Byron Jackson 00., Vernon, Galifi, a corporation of Delaware Thisinvention relates to Well pipe elevators and the like, and is direetesparticularly to improvements therein which are calculated to reduce themanual effort involved in applying such devices to and removing themirom the pipe.

As is Well known to those familiar with oil well drilling operations, itis necessary to periodically remove the string of drill pipe from thewell to replace a worn drilling :bit. The drill string is separated intosections, orstands of from-6E) to 90 feet in length, which are racked inanupright position inthe derrick. A member of thedri'lling crew, usuallytermed 'thetderrick man, is stationed on a platter-m high in thederrick, to unlatch the elevator from the upper end of each stand ofpipe as it is disconnected from the drill string and racked in thederrick, and to latch the elevator about each successive stand as thepipe is run back into the well.

Th task of the den-l ck man is most arduous when running the string ofpipe back into the well. During this operation, as each successive standof pipe is connected to-thedrillstring, the drill string is lowered intothe well while supported in the elevator, until the upper end ofthenewly added stand is just above the rotary table. The weight of the pipeis transferred from the elevator to the pipe slips set in the table, andthe elevator is thenremoved from the pipe and raised in the derrick topick up the next stand. Meanwhile, the derrick man has moved the nextstand into position to ibeengaged bytheelevator. In order to save asmuch time as possible, the driller at the hoist sent-sols meters not todecrease the hoisting speed an appreciable amount as the empty elevatorreaches the dor-- rick man, thus requiring the derrick man to grasp theelevator as it approaches his [level and draw it toward and; latchitabout the-pipe while the elevator is travelling upward-lyat asubstantial speed. It is thus apparent that sew-second timing on thepart of the derrick man 'isrequ ired. For this reason, it is/of' utmostimportance that the elevator hang from the supporting linksin such aposition thatxitcan be. graspedtby theder rick man and latches; aboutthe'pipe: a min" imum or effort and in the shortest possible time. Theinstant invention is directed .particmanly to thisplir aseaof,drillingloperations;

Well some elevators. inuse..-are..of. two general classes, namely: (1%)those whichrthe suppcrting earsare :fiormed onqdiametricallyzoppositesides or .a. ashamed .hody defininganonen-sided 1 3181831655, and inopen side of the recesses closedhsanoor or'sateapi-vomlly mount ed onthe body on an axis at one side of the open recess, this type beinggenerally referred to as side-door elevators; and (2) those comprisingtwo substantially symmetrical sections each hav ing a supporting ear andmeeting in a diametric plane extending at right angles to the plane ofthe supporting ears, and :being hinged-1y connected attire rear side ofpipe recess and releass ably latched together at the front side, 'Thistype is usually reterred to as "centcr latch or double door elevators.

It is characteristic or center latch elevators that as the sections areswung outwardly relative.

to each other about their pivotal axis, the rear portion of the elevatormotes toward the inertical plane of support extending through the sup.-porting' ears, thus shifting the center of gravity of elevatortorward-ly of that plane. This creates a tendency tor the front side ofthe 1518? water to tilt downward-1y to an extent to again the center ofgravity the aforesaid plane. of support. moyement is an advantage inone. for the: following reason. Inasmuch as the supporting ears are eachtermed. .on one of the elevator sections, the .open mg movement or thesection increases the .distaoc'e between the ears, causing the elevatorto assume downwardly diverging: positions with aeespeet-to each other.lithe tendency or the to return to their normal suspended nositiomstends. to lclose the elevator i the links are both :susneoded a singlehook. and, even if the iisn ss a e sena ate y susnended at 1ateralhlpoints on a multiple hook, the closin ie emcy is us lly suffici nt to nev etth elesator' .f-rom 1 a ins 161115 3 openunleasittilt downwardly sofrom. I :be apparent, .how eyenthaat when. the front portion of theelevator istilted downwardly to dispose: the 'n votal axis inclinedposition, theweisht of the eleyator constitutes one component of exerts:a tonmne moment about the pivotal axis in martian to the lclosimg forceexerted hr the r t f re oing reasons; it haslbecnecustoma r t allowseiner lat h elevators to: sneak flw si or tilt ld wowardltr invzfiront,inorden .to maintain in open. :position while the derrick to pick upastandmrf pipe; Th s ma tice has the: ldaisalclvantaeql honey-er; ofreel-airing l the derr ck man to no the elevator back t Wright, ormearstupright, lposition in order to aiian the snipelboreloi; the: elevatorw t the pine bef re the elevator the. latched .on then pe.

The instant invention has as its principal object the provision of anelevator, particularly of the center latch type, which will remain inopen position without being tilted downwardly in front.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elevator havingvincorporated therein a releasable latch mechanism acting between theelevator sections to releasably retain the elevator in open position.

A still further object is to provide an elevator having meansincorporated therein for exerting a force yieldingly maintaining theelevator in open position, the arrangement being such as to require onlyslight manual effort to effect the initial closing movement of theelevator sections, and the aforesaid force being rendered inactive uponsuch initial closing movement.

A still further object is to provide an elevator having a novelspreading latch housed within a recess in the bore of the elevator in aprotected location.

The manner in which th foregoing and other objects are attained will beapparent from the foregoing detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an elevator embodying the invention, therear portion of the elevator being broken away on substantially the lineI'.[ of Fig. 3 to illustrate details of a preferred form of yieldablespreading means;

Fig. 2 is a view simila to Fig. 1, but showing the elevator in closedposition;

Fig. 3 is a vertical view taken on line IIIIII of Fig. 1, showing theyieldable spreading means in elevation,

Referring to the drawing, I have shown my novel spreading latch asapplied to a well-known type of elevator such as is used for handlingexternal upset drill pipethat is, pipe having a tapered upset at thebase of the tool joint. The elevator comprises generally a pair ofsections l and H pivotally interconnected at th rear side by a hinge pinl2, and having a latch [2a for detachably securing the forward sides ofthe sections together about a pipe. Semi-circular bores l3 and M areformed in the inner Walls of the respective sections and cooperate toform a circular pipe recess when the sections are closed. As mostclearly shown in Fig. 3, a downwardly tapered seat [5 is formed in thebore, and conforms to the tapered upset on the pipe to support the pipein the elevator. Each section is provided with a pair of outwardlyprojecting upper and lower ears [6 and l! defining link recesses inwhich the lower eyes of elevator links are received and releasablyconfined by detachable link retainer blocks IS. A pair of handles l9project outwardly from the forward sides of the sections and a handle 20is formed at the rear side of one section, to aid in the manualmanipulation of the elevator. For a more complete description of thedetailed construction of the elevator, reference is made to U. S.Letters Patent No. 2,067,663 to Herbert E. Grau, dated January 12, 1937.

It will be observed with particular reference to Fig. 3 that the bore ofthe elevator body is enlarged between th upper bores l 3 and I4 and thelower'centering rib 2l,'providing recesses 22 and 23 in the respectiveelevator sections I0 and II, one of which recesses form a convenientplace for mounting a spring detent 24. Th detent comprises a flat,elongated bow spring, the free end of which is rounded over at 25 toprovide a cam surface 26. The opposite end of the spring is turnedoutwardly at 21 and engages a slot 28 formed in a retainer plate 29welded or otherwise secured to the wall of th recess 22 in the elevatorsection 10. The outer wall of the retainer plate is grooved lengthwisethereof from the slot 28 to the remote end of the plate, to receive thespring 24 and retain it firmly in place,

As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the hinge pin [2, which pivotallyconnects the two body sections together, extends through upper and lowerhinge lugs 30 and SI on the body section In and a central hinge lug 32on the body section I l. A cam projection 33 is formed on the centralhing lug 32 in the horizontal plane of the spring 24, and is providedwith a forward, steeply pitched cam surface 34 (Fig. 2) and a rear camsurface 35 of relatively fiat pitch. A relatively Wide clearance isprovided at 36 (Fig. 1) between the hinge lug 32 and the adjacent wallof the body section ill, to receive the projection 33 when the bodysections are closed.

It will be observed that the outward flexing of the spring detent 24 islimited by engagement thereof with the wall of the recess 22, and itwill be noted in particular, with reference to Fig. 2, that a slightclearance is provided between the curved-over end 25 of the detent andthe wall of the hinge lug 32. Thus the only frictional engagementbetween the detent and the hinge lug is during the time the detentengages the cam projection 33. In this manner, frictional wear on thedetent and hinge lug is reduced to a mini mum, and the detent is whollyinactiv once it has been disengaged from the projection and hence itoffers no resistance to closing of the elevator after the initialclosing movement has been effected.

The operation of the spring detent will be apparent from the foregoingdescription. When removing the elevator from the pipe, the sections arespread apart as far as is permitted by the usual opening stops (notshown) on the body sections. This opening movement is slightly more thansufficient to cause the cam projection 33 to pass to the right of thecurved end 25 of the spring, to the position shown in Fig. 1. In passingthe spring end, the fiat cam surface 35 on the projection engages thecurved cam surface 26 on the spring and flexes the spring outwardly.Because of the relatively flat wedge angle of the cam surface 35, theflexing of the spring offers no substantial resistance to openingmovement of the elevator sections. However, when the steeply pitched camsurface 34 on the opposite side of the projection engages the springend, the force required to flex the spring inwardly is considerablygreater. By suitably shaping the cam surface 34 and by the selection ofa spring of proper strength, the resistance ofiered thereby may be suchas to only slightly exceed the closing force exerted on the elevator bythe links. Hence, upon application of slight manual pressure on theelevator handles 19 in a closing direction, the spring may be flexedinwardly to allow the projection 33 to pass it. After the projection haspassed the spring, the closing of the elevator is effected withoutinterference by the spring.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be apparent that relatively simple but highlyeffective means have been provided for insuring that the elevator ismaintained in open position without being tilted downwardly in front,thus enabling the derrick man to quickly and easily apply it to the pipeby simply drawing it toward him, without having to tilt it intoalignment with the pipe. The provision of means for releasablymaintaining the elevator sections in open position not only insuresproper alignment of the elevator with the pipe, but also preventsinadvertent closing of the elevator due to vibration or swaying as itascends or descends in the derrick.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel spreadingmeans may assume various forms, and it is to be understood that the formshown and described herein is solely for illustrative purposes. Hencethe invention is not limited to the precise form shown herein, but is ofthe full scope of the appended claims.

This application is a division of the copending application of Gird E.Mullinix and Allen E. Hambly, Serial No. 422,224, filed December 9,1941, now matured into Patent No. 2,354,217, issued July 25, 1944.

I claim:

1. In a well pipe elevator, a pair of pipe-encircling members, meanspivotally interconnecting said members for relative swinging movementabout a normally vertical axis into open and closed positions, meansyieldably retaining said members in open position comprising aprojection on one member having a cam surface thereon facing in thedirection of closing movement of said one member, a spring-presseddetent mounted on the other member and yield ably urged by its springinto the path of movement of said projection, the parts being soconstructed and arranged that when said members are in open positionsaid detent is disposed adjacent the cam surface on said projection andyieldingly resists initial closing movement of said members, and anabutment on said other member limiting movement of said detent towardsaid one member, said abutment preventing contact between said detentand said one member, except when said projection engages said detent.

2. A well pipe elevator comprising, in combination: a pair of bodysections having substantially semi-circular recesses cooperating todefine a pipe-receiving bore; means including aligned pivot bosses onsaid sections and a pivot pin extending through said bosses forpivotally interconnecting said sections for relative swinging movementabout a normally vertical axis into open and closed positions; aprojection on one of said pivot bosses providing a cam surface at oneside of the projection; a, pring-pressed detent on the other sectionengageable with said cam surface when the body sections are in openposition to yieldingly resist closing movement of said sections, saiddetent being housed within the other section between the pipe recess andthe outer wall of the section.

GIRD E. MULLINIX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,002,391 Gruendler Sept. 6, 19111,716,905 Smith June 11, 1929 1,871,845 Grant Aug. 16, 1932 1,636,019Stuart July 19, 1927 2,342,531 Dean Feb. 22, 1944

